Baseball Quiz: Shu and I were talking about the Prince Fielder trade. So as noted in an ESPN.com piece, his 285 career home runs are the fifth-most in MLB history before the age of 30 by a lefty, behind which four hitters. Answer below. [Hint: I checked Babe Ruth and I come up with 284.]
College Football Review
[Comments written prior to the release of the AP and BCS polls.]
No. 1 [BCS] Alabama whipped Chattanooga 49-0. Yawn. But next week no yawner. Auburn.
No. 2 Florida State scored a school-record 80 points in defeating Idaho 80-14 (the line was 57…I said it would be 63-0). Freshman quarterback sensation Jameis Winston threw for four touchdowns and now has 32 on the year, one shy of the school record set in 2000 by Chris Weinke. But Winston is still in the midst of an investigation into a sexual assault from last December. We should learn in the next week whether the school is going to have to suspend him. FSU, by the way, has outscored its 11 opponents by a total margin of 607-125.
No. 3 Ohio State defeated Indiana 42-14, the Buckeyes’ school record 23rd straight. But they are going to fall short in the BCS.
No. 4 Baylor got its comeuppance in a big way, losing to No. 10 Oklahoma State 49-17 in Stillwater. Baylor entered the game averaging 61 points a game, best in the nation, and coach Art Briles had just signed a 10-year contract extension.
All week, I read stories on how Oregon players weren’t happy they were headed to the Rose Bowl after their loss to Stanford the other week. They want to play for the national title after all, but they blew it a second straight year in losing to the Cardinal. I was thinking, stop bitching.
So the No. 5 Ducks went down to Tucson and lost to the Arizona Wildcats 42-16, totally getting their butts kicked. As the television analyst said, “The bar (at Oregon) has been raised so high, that’s why (a game like Saturday’s) is so dispiriting.”
Oregon just looked awful…dropped passes, the first two Marcus Mariota interceptions of the year (one not his fault), thus eliminating him from the Heisman race, while Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey rushed 48 times for 206 yards and four touchdowns. A big win for coach Rich Rodriguez as he targets southern California in his recruiting. He has something to sell, including great facilities.
As for the Ducks, they have tumbled out of the BCS picture totally. But I have so much Duckwear, I can’t just trash it. I might opt to place it in the “probation sports drawer.” The Ducks basketball team is off to a solid start, after all.
No. 7 Clemson blasted Citadel 52-6 as Tajh Boyd had another five touchdown passes. Clemson led 42-0 at half.
No. 8 Missouri beat No. 24 Ole Miss 24-10 to move to 10-1. James Franklin made his return at QB for the Tigers and did fine.
No. 9 Stanford blitzed Cal 63-13.
No. 11 South Carolina slaughtered Coastal Carolina 70-10. Huge game next Saturday night against Clemson. A BCS bowl is on the line for both. Clemson certainly clinches one with a win. South Carolina would need some help but a Gamecocks win would put them a lot closer.
No. 22 LSU manhandled No. 12 Texas A&M 34-10 as Johnny Manziel played himself out of the Heisman race, 16/41, 224, 1-2. Both teams are now 8-3.
No. 13 Michigan State defeated Northwestern 30-6. Looking forward to Big Ten title matchup vs. Ohio State.
No. 15 Fresno State is now 10-0 following a 69-28 win over New Mexico, with Bulldogs quarterback Derek Carr passing for 527 yards and seven TDs. Fresno had a school-record 820 yards total offense.
Wednesday night, No. 16 Northern Illinois beat a solid Toledo team, 35-17, as QB Jordan Lynch had 363 yards of total offense. This is a Toledo squad that lost to Missouri by only 38-23. The Huskies have a cakewalk against Western Michigan on Tuesday before the MAC championship game. But with Fresno playing better the last few weeks, they’ll stay ahead of Northern Illinois in the BCS.
No. 17 Arizona State clinched the Pac-12 South title in besting No. 14 UCLA 38-33.
Thursday, No. 18 UCF defeated Rutgers 41-17.
In a total shocker, Georgia Southern (which has losses this season to Wofford, Samford, Appalachian State and Furman) defeated Florida in Gainesville, 26-20, dropping the Gators to 4-7. Coach Wil Muschamp cannot possibly survive this debacle. It didn’t help there were thousands of empty seats.
Duke’s startling season continued as it won its ninth game, 28-21 over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. Duke now goes for a school record ten wins next week against North Carolina (which has reeled off five in a row). For Wake, four-year starter Tanner Price has generally been awful all season at quarterback. Half the time this year the entire team seemed to be sleepwalking.
Boston College moved to 7-4 with a thrilling 29-26 win over Maryland (6-5) as running back Andre Williams thrust himself deep into the Heisman conversation by rushing 32 times for 263 yards. Not only does Williams now have 2,073 yards on the season with a game against Syracuse remaining, but the last three he has 295, 339 and 263. Williams has rushed for over 200 yards five times this fall.
So who is going to win the Heisman? Mariota? No. Manziel? No. Winston? It all depends on whether charges are filed against him. Those casting ballots will wait until the last possible minute before mailing it in in order to see what happens in the case. Tajh Boyd? No. Jordan Lynch? He’ll get some votes. AJ McCarron? Very possibly. Fresno’s Derek Carr deserves some votes. Baylor’s Bryce Petty? Not now. But Andre Williams seems a lock for the top four or five.
[If McCarron plays well in a win against Auburn, it’s his.]
On Friday night, Navy downed San Jose State 58-52 in triple overtime as quarterback Keenan Reynolds rushed for seven touchdowns, an NCAA record. He now has 26 on the year, one shy of the NCAA mark for a QB. But I just have a real problem that stats from a triple overtime game are treated as if they were the same as a regulation contest. Three of Reynolds’ TDs were in OT.
UConn defeated Temple 28-21, the Huskies’ first win (1-9) while Temple fell to 1-10. Wow. I’m assuming good seats were available in Philadelphia.
Just saw that Georgia QB Aaron Murray tore his ACL in the team’s win over Kentucky. Boy, you have to feel sorry for the guy. He has definite NFL potential but will now miss everything – bowl game, All-Star games, draft compounds – just sucks. But he’ll be a worthy middle of the draft selection by just about any team looking for, at worst, a solid backup in 2015 at the latest.
The FCS (Div. I-AA) tournament field is announced Sunday….
My Maine Black Bears suffered a 24-3 loss to New Hampshire to fall to 10-2. They should still get an at-large bid…he wrote, fingers crossed.
Fordham, also looking for an at-large spot, moved to 11-1 with a 56-19 win over Colgate.
Princeton lost to Dartmouth 28-24 and thus will share the Ivy League title with Harvard, 34-7 winners over Yale.
Montana (10-2) defeated Montana State (7-5) 28-14 in Bozeman.
And the FCS 24-team field is out….
#1 seed is North Dakota State, #2 Eastern Illinois.
Maine received a 5-seed, which surprised me, and plays the winner of New Hampshire-Lafayette, so a potential rematch. [Lafayette, despite a 5-6 record, qualified as winner of the Patriot League after blasting Lehigh on Saturday.] And Fordham made the field but has a first-round game against Sacred Heart.
And your new AP Poll….
1. Alabama 11-0 (56 first-place votes) (1496 points)
2. Florida State 11-0 (4) (1444)
3. Ohio State 11-0 (1375)
4. Auburn 10-1 (1294)
5. Missouri 10-1 (1202)
6. Clemson 10-1 (1196)
7. Oklahoma State 10-1 (1177)
8. Stanford 9-2
9. Baylor 9-1
10. South Carolina 9-2
11. Michigan State 10-1
12. Oregon 9-2….they deserve this
13. Arizona State 9-2
16. Fresno State 10-0
17. UCF 9-1
18. Northern Illinois 11-0
21. Louisville 10-1…unimpressive win over Memphis
24. Duke 9-2
And the new BCS Poll…..
1. Alabama .988
2. Florida State .970
3. Ohio State .920
4. Auburn .824
5. Missouri .808
6. Clemson .773
7. Oklahoma State .762
8. Stanford .667
9. Baylor .646
10. South Carolina .610
11. Michigan State
12. Arizona State
13. Oregon
14. Northern Illinois…wow! Shocker!
16. Fresno State
19. UCF
Yes, in the NFL these days it’s all about staying relevant. And boy, after this weekend we have a ton of teams who still are.
Pittsburgh, off to a 0-4 start, is now 5-6 after beating Cleveland (4-7) 27-11. The Browns had four turnovers, the Steelers 0.
Tampa Bay won its third straight in beating Detroit, in Motown, 24-21 as the Lions fall to 6-5. Awful loss.
But Chicago lost to my initial Pick to Click, St. Louis, 42-21, so the Bears are now 6-5 in the NFC Central. [The Rams go to 5-6, but have San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans, Arizona and Tampa Bay left.]
Green Bay could have moved into a three-way tie with Chicago and Detroit but tied Minnesota 26-26. So Green Bay is 5-5-1. Matt Flynn returned to at least rally the Packers into OT.
In the AFC, my Jets (5-6) could not have sucked worse, except at times this year they have, in losing to Baltimore 19-3 in the land of Edgar Allen Poe. Geno Smith, hot off his 10.1 quarterback rating of last week, turned in a 22.3 performance. 9/22, 127, 0-2, with a lost fumble. He now has 18 interceptions, 5 lost fumbles on the season. In his last six games he has one touchdown pass and 10 picks. That’s not good, sports fans. Not good at all.
But…the Jets stay relevant! It helped big time that Carolina (8-3) stormed back at the end to defeat Miami 20-16 as the Dolphins drop to 5-6 and now face the Jets in the Meadowlands next Sunday.
Meanwhile, San Diego stayed relevant, another team now 5-6 and fighting for the second wildcard spot, in beating the Chiefs in K.C., 41-38, as Philip Rivers continued his strong play throwing for 392 yards and three touchdowns. The Chiefs, after starting off 9-0, have lost two straight and have another game with Denver next week, though at least this one is at home.
–And how about the Arizona Cardinals? They go to 7-4 in whipping Indianapolis, also now 7-4, 40-11. Carson Palmer has 8 TDs and just 2 INTs his last four starts, all wins. There’s your difference.
–Lastly, Dallas prevailed over the Giants 24-21 on a last-second field goal after the Giants rallied from down 21-6 to tie it.
NFC East
Philadelphia 6-5
Dallas 6-5
New York 4-7…too late, wudda cudda shudda…
NFC North
Detroit 6-5
Chicago 6-5
Green Bay 5-5-1
AFC second wildcard slot (Denver or Kansas City getting the first one)
New York 5-6…Jets play Miami twice
Miami 5-6
Baltimore 5-6
Pittsburgh 5-6
San Diego 5-6
Tennessee 5-6
That, my friends, is unfreakin’ real….plus Buffalo, Cleveland and Oakland are at 4-7 and…still relevant!!!
–The NFL suspended umpire Roy Ellison one game for “making a profane and derogatory statement” to Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams during last week’s game at Philadelphia. The National Football League Referees Association responded by declaring its intent to file a grievance on Ellison’s behalf.
Williams claimed after the game that he had been verbally abused by Ellison. Williams said Ellison called him a “garbage [expletive], disrespectful [expletive].” Others say Williams used the N-word on Ellison. Both men are black.
–So as you saw watching the Giants-Cowboys contest, it’s cold as hell already here in the New York area. There was a story in the New York Times on the various weather forecasts for the Super Bowl, Feb. 2, and I see that the NFL is going to give all fans at the game “Warm Welcome” kits that include lip balm, foil blankets, hand warmers and earmuffs stuffed into a seat cushion.
—Dan Dierdorf is retiring after three decades as an announcer, the longest current tenure by a TV analyst. The former offensive lineman for the St. Louis Cardinals was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
Ball Bits
–I can understand why the Yankees are signing catcher Brian McCann to a five-year, $85 million contract, but that doesn’t mean it will prove to be a smart move. This is a guy who hasn’t played 130 games in any of his last three seasons, one nagging injury after another. But he only turns 30 in February so what the hell. His lefthanded bat is perfect for the little bandbox known as Yankee Stadium. And he certainly is a fiery leader.
But will the Yanks re-sign Robinson Cano? And sign Carlos Beltran? And can Derek Jeter come back? If the answer to all three is yes, plus a return to form by Mark Teixeira, the excitement will be back in the Bronx. [We’ll leave out the pitching situation…one issue at a time, boys and girls.]
And of course there is the A-Rod saga. Who the heck knows what the conclusion will be. What does seem apparent at this point is there will be no definitive ruling until January at the earliest.
“The Yankees’ beleaguered third baseman drew his daily headlines Friday with his boast to ESPN New York in an interview Thursday. Said A-Rod, hours after his arbitration hearing against MLB concluded: ‘We crushed it. They had nothing.’
“But the more telling quote was this: ‘The only thing that concerns me is the process.’
“Yup, as ESPN’s Lester Munson pointed out succinctly in a web piece, Rodriguez must be the first baseball player who has decided he has a better shot in an actual courtroom than in an arbitration hearing room.”
Or as the New York Daily News’ Mike Lupica put it, following A-Rod’s storming out of the arbitration hearing on Wednesday, only to immediately appear on Mike Francesa’s radio program for WFAN to plead his case:
“Rodriguez has now officially constructed a world where everything bad that has ever happened to him is somebody else’s fault, where any accusation is a lie, where only he is telling the truth.”
But with a January timeline for a final ruling by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, that leaves the Yankees in a bind, not knowing what A-Rod’s status is, and whether or not his contract is available to spend on free agents other than McCann.
–As for the Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler trade, this one helps both teams. Detroit clears out a massive contract, Fielder being due $168 million over the next seven seasons (though Detroit will pick up $30 million of it over the remaining term), while allowing Miguel Cabrera to move to first and giving some younger prospects an opportunity. Ditto the Rangers, who in sending Kinsler to Detroit open the door to top prospect Jurickson Profar to man second base.
–St. Louis sent third baseman David Freese, former World Series MVP, to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder Peter Bourjos and an outfield prospect Randal Grichuk. The Angels also get reliever Fernando Salas.
Freese’s production fell off markedly in 2013 from 2012, when he hit .293 with 20 home runs. Last season he batted just .262 with nine homers. He also hit only .179 (10-for-56) in the playoffs. But he’s an upgrade at third for the Angels. Salas is also solid.
Bourjos, a superb centerfielder, needs to stay healthy.
–But wait, there’s more in Cardinal land! They have signed free agent shortstop, and Biogenesis dude, Jhonny Peralta to a four-year, $52 million contract.
–Mets fans know management is not going to spend beaucoup bucks on the likes of free agents Shin-Soo Choo or Jacoby Ellsbury. But they just shelled out $7.25 million for Oakland outfielder Chris Young.
In 2010, Young, then on the Diamondbacks, hit 27 homers, drove in 91, stole 28 and hit .257. But his numbers have fallen each year thereafter and he hit an even .200 last season with the A’s and had a truly putrid on-base percentage of .280. Yuck.
But GM Sandy Alderson is convinced Jones can return to his 2010 form if he plays every day. Oh well, the guy does have five home runs in 43 post-season at bats if the Mets ever make the playoffs again, which is highly unlikely in 2014. Young could be run out of town if he proves to be another Jason Bay.
—Masahiro Tanaka’s potential move to the U.S. is in jeopardy, with Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball having trouble hammering out a deal to decrease the costs of Japanese imports. Without a new agreement between the two, Tanaka cannot pitch in the U.S. next season. Without a “posting agreement,” Tanaka can’t come to the States until he has accrued nine years service time in the NPB and he has currently pitched for seven.
–We note the passing of Major League Baseball Players Association chief Michael Weiner, 51. Unlike his predecessor, Donald Fehr, you never heard a single bad word about the man and player-owner relations today are a reflection of his leadership the past four years.
Former major league All-Star Tony Clark is going to be approved next month as Weiner’s successor.
College Basketball
–Well my Pick to Click for the season, VCU Rams, struggled in Puerto Rico at the Tip-Off tourney there, losing to Florida State 85-67, besting Long Beach State, but then losing to Georgetown 84-80 on Sunday. It’s a long season and there are good losses and bad ones. An early season ass-whooping is often a good one. The first loss qualifies as a good one. The second one to Georgetown is a bad one. Georgetown shot 23 of 41 from the field, 56%, and VCU was 20 of 56, 36%. Davidson, by the way, defeated Georgetown in the tourney, 94-82.
And also on Sunday, one week after losing to Belmont, No. 24 North Carolina beat No. 3 Louisville 93-84 behind Marcus Paige’s 32.
–You know I just got around to reading the full Sports Illustrated college b-ball preview and had no idea Oklahoma State had the top three returning scorers in the Big 12 (Marcus Smart, Markel Brown and Le’Bryan Nash). They say their hopes of a Final Four, though, hinge on whether Nash is a true team player, rather than treating his time on the court as an NBA audition.
—Rutgers’ sports program continues to struggle. On Saturday, William & Mary defeated the Scarlet Knights 72-62.
–I just saw where Duke has signed four of the country’s top-25 prospects for next year. Oh goodie. Just what this Wake fan wants to see.
—Scoring in the college game is up 9% owing to rule changes that make it more difficult to defend without getting whistled for a foul.
NBA Fever
–Last year the Knicks got off to an 8-1 start and I was remarking how it had been decades since I was so interested, that early, in the season. Then all summer, New York area fans were gearing up for what promised to be a most entertaining 2013-14 season between the Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. I was so impressed by the Nets’ revamped roster and the signing/acquisition of the likes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko that I picked them to go all the way. The Nets had tremendous depth that would pay off come playoff time.
Actually, make that 3-10 in the case of the Nets, 109-97 losers to the Pistons on Sunday, the team’s fifth straight loss at home. But, heck, they were playing without Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, their two top players, and Andrei Kirilenko, who would be their top reserve. I mean you can’t win without those guys, it’s just that simple.
–You have to feel for Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose, out indefinitely because of torn cartilage in his right knee, this after he sat out an entire season following serious surgery on his left knee. It’s just not fair, though if there is any good news it is that this particular injury isn’t as serious as the first.
[The Bulls lost on Sunday to the Clippers, 121-82, without Rose.]
—Top teams…San Antonio (12-1), Indiana (12-1) and Portland (12-2). Nice game by the Trail Blazers’ power forward LaMarcus Aldridge on Sat. night in a win against the Warriors. 30 points, 21 rebounds.
–Hall of Famer Vern Mikkelsen died. He played on the Minneapolis Lakers from 1949-59 and was thought to be the game’s first power forward, 6-7, 230, averaging 9 rebounds a game for his career to go along with 14 points and stout interior defense. Mikkelsen teamed with center George Mikan to lead the Lakers to four NBA championships in the early 50s. Mikkelsen still holds the record for fouling out: 127 times in his 699 games.
–Yippee! Wake Forest advances in the Division I men’s soccer tournament, defeating Navy 2-1 in a second round game. [I’m posting before result of Notre Dame-Wisconsin, the winner being the Deacs’ next opponent.]
—Lindsey Vonn withdrew from the upcoming World Cup races at Beaver Creek, Colo., but her publicist said “her rehab is progressing…with an eye at racing in Lake Louise one week later,” which is highly encouraging following her ligament tear in her surgically repaired right knee during practice a week ago. If I was in attendance, I’d be scared to watch. We need her in Sochi. NBC needs her in Sochi!
—Edward Cheserek of New Jersey, a freshman at Oregon, won the men’s NCAA cross country championship, but Colorado won the team title over Northern Arizona (Oregon was fifth).
Abby D’Agostino of Dartmouth won the women’s Div. I title, Providence took the team crown. Back on 7/2/2012 in this space, in reporting from the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, I said D’Agostino “was one to watch for 2016” in the 5000. You go, girl!
—Magnus Carlsen, the 22-year-old Norwegian who is treated like a rock star in his country, won the world chess championship over Viswanathan Anand, 43, of India. Anand had been the titleholder since 2007. Carlsen thus becomes only the second player from the West to become champion since World War II, and the first since Bobby Fischer, who held the title from 1972 to 1975.
Carlsen’s current rating is the highest in history. He has been a grandmaster since age 13. He also receives about $1.5 million for his efforts.
—Manny Pacquiao showed he still has something left in the tank in pounding Brandon Rios for a unanimous decision in Macau. Rios is 31-2-1. Pacquiao moved to 55-5-2, after losing his two bouts in 2012.
–At the World Cup of Golf, played at Royal Melbourne in Australia, Welsh golfer Stuart Manley aced the par-three third hole in Saturday’s third round. That moved him into a share of second place. As the Associated Press reported, “Manley patted the roof of a car after the shot, thinking he had won it, but the car is only available for a hole-in-one during Sunday’s final round. He found out the bad news when he got to the green to pluck his ball out of the hole.
“But before he had a chance to see himself on the leaderboard, Manley went from a 1 to double figures on the par-four fourth.” He recorded an 11! Alas, he rallied to shoot a one-over-par 72.
[Jason Day ended up winning the individual title and teamed with countryman Adam Scott for the team crown for Australia. Manley finished T-8.]
—SHARK! On Saturday morning a 35-year-old was killed by an apparent great white at Gracetown, Australia, south of Perth. The man’s arm was missing and he was dead when he was dragged from the water. Gracetown has been the scene of three fatal shark attacks in the last nine years.
–It was back in 2006 that Crystal Mangum falsely accused three Duke lacrosse players of gang-raping her at a team party. On Friday, Mangum was convicted of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of her boyfriend back in April 2011.
–I’ve been writing of troubles in Jamaica with its anti-doping commission and the entire board resigned Friday amid the ongoing investigation into its testing practices. This is a good first step in ensuring the nation’s track athletes are clean.
–Catching up on some reading, in the December issue of GQ there is a piece by Michael Kobold and Josh Dean on Kobold’s friendship with James Gandolfini. Kobold is a high-end watchmaker who out of nowhere ended up becoming close friends with Gandolfini because the latter liked his watches. It was Kobold who was the family spokesman when Gandolfini died in Rome and the story in part is on how difficult it is to repatriate a body from overseas.
But knowing my preconceptions about the kind of person Gandolfini was (a great guy, but one who picked his friends carefully), Kobold relates that as the last season of The Sopranos was coming to a close, Gandolfini purchased 450 Kobold watches for the cast and crew, a gift that retailed for more than $2 million.
You can see online an ad Gandolfini did for Kobold in The Economist, the most expensive ad Kobold ever ran. Kobold writes:
“It’s a shot of Jim smirking while flipping off the camera – really, he was flipping me off because I was bugging him – and ran with the line, ‘Even James Gandolfini thinks Kobold is No. 1.’ The ad…got me some angry phone calls, including one from a concerned father who was upset that his 7-year-old had seen it. Jim decided to reply personally. ‘Dear Mr. Smith,’ he wrote. ‘If your 7-year-old son reads The Economist, you have nothing to worry about. Regards, James Gandolfini.’”
–Reading an article from the Times’ travel section on Charleston and a restaurant called “The Ordinary” and their specialty, “swordfish schnitzel.” Goodness gracious. I’m drooling. The Times says its “extraordinary.”
They also mention Alluette’s Café, where about two years ago my brother and I had the best fried shrimp we’ve ever had.
–I watched Bill Cosby’s new special for Comedy Central, “Far From Finished,” and it was good. Check it out.
–A Bar Chat Guarantee…there will be no floating balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade… repeat…no floating balloons. I can tell the forecast already is for high winds as a northeaster will have blown up the coast the day before and that means the day after is gusty.
Top 3 songs for the week 11/22/75: #1 “That’s The Way (I Like It)” (KC & The Sunshine Band) #2 “Fly, Robin, Fly” (Silver Convention) #3 “Who Loves You” (Four Seasons)… and…#4 “Island Girl” (Elton John) #5 “The Way I Want To Touch You” (Captain & Tennille) #6 “This Will Be” (Natalie Cole) #7 “Feelings” (Morris Albert) #8 “Low Rider” (War) #9 “Sky High” (Jigsaw) #10 “Let’s Do It Again” (The Staple Singers)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Four left-handed batters with more than 285 career home runs by the age of 30…Ken Griffey Jr., Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott and Adam Dunn. Go to baseballreference.com for the particulars. Jimmie Foxx, by the way, had 379 before he was 30, but he quickly dropped off from there. A little too much domestic, they say.
